Live From Afghanistan...

One Month Off…   

              

Greetings from the desert!  I wish I was able to stay more active in the blogosphere, but things are so busy out here and the Wi-Fi connection isn’t always very reliable.  Due to the current schedule that I follow, I haven’t really had time to squeeze in a daily run like I do when I’m back stateside.  Instead, I’ve taken to going to what we’ve nicknamed the “Prison Gym”.  Essentially we’ve got very resourceful Marines who have acquired some workout equipment and put it here in our compound.  We have a lot of free weights, several straight bars for bench/squat/etc, and some newly arrived cable machines! 

I’ve been doing mostly strength training, lifting weights between 5 and 6 times a week.  I don’t ever have a plan, but I have a workout partner who creates our schedule!  One of my goals when I got here was to be able to do 10 pull-ups.  When we first arrived I was unable to even eke out ONE…but now I’m up to SEVEN!  So, there are positives to weight training!

However, my running, which provides me peace of mind, solitude, and sanity, has sadly fallen to the wayside.  On Saturday, for the first time in almost a month, I got back out on the road.  We did a three-mile run with 2 min jog, 15-second sprint.  It was tough, but mostly because my cardio has gone out the window! 

It was a welcome feeling to be back in my Inov8’s and on the road.  Sometimes you just don’t know how much you need something until it’s missing from your life!

A Mental Game (and a couple questions)

This morning, I donned my "glow belt" and headed out into the 0530 darkness to log a few miles before the day got started. (We are dropping off the dogs at a kennel and the baby at a friend's house and heading down to Wilmington for the evening to attend my husband's Dining In - it's a military function - with his folks. Oh, and I have an appointment to get my hair chopped so it's one busy day.) Yesterday's high temp was nearing 80, and this morning, it had cooled to about 70-degrees. Many of you think that's too warm, but this girl was thrilled! 

I set out to run anywhere from 3-5 at an 8:30 pace. (my goal pace for the half next month) Yesterday I kept a 7:37 pace, so I thought it would be no sweat. WRONG! Running is such a mental game for me (and probably about 99% of all runners, but this blog is about us:). I'm sure my legs and lungs were capable of holding a faster pace, but it took every ounce of mental resolve for me to keep running nearly a minute slower per mile today. What gives?!

Maybe it was a factor of not getting enough sleep the night before. I've been using these teeth whitening strips that have to go on twice a day. For the past two nights, I haven't put them on until close to 2300, meaning I'm up until at least 2330 before I can take them out. Or perhaps it's because today is the final day of our cleanse. Maybe my Saturday experience allowed me to talk myself into running a shorter distance today in a much slower time. I don't think it's a lack of rest for my legs, because I took Sunday off and ran short yesterday; however, my dog FREAKED OUT at the vet yesterday and did lay down some decent scratches/bruises on me:

He really is a good dog, but he was not happy about getting Bordatella in his nose so he demonstrated his UFC skills. It took me, a tech, and three docs to accomplish the task!

Whatever it is, it sucked and I need to figure out some tricks on how to kick my own butt into gear. I'm missing a run with my Stroller Warriors this morning, but I know they plan to finish with some strides, so I tacked on 6 to the end of my run and did feel pretty darn good about that, so I'm not totally fed up with myself. And miles are miles in my book, so it's all good.

Now for my questions:

1. What's the ideal distance when running strides?

2. How many strides should one do at any given time?

3. What's your favorite trick for overcoming your own mental obstacles?

Cleanse + Long Run = Terrible Idea

I've been following various running blogs for about 2 years now. Many of them have included at least one (some many...SUAR) stories about "accidents" while running. Well, it's finally my turn to tell my tale.


On Saturday morning, I hopped out of bed, kissed my husband, and said, "I'm off for 6 miles, even though I should do 10." (MIL & FIL are in town and BIL was in-bound Saturday morning, so I was planning to cut it short.) He replied, "Don't be a puss." So what did I do? Of course, I changed my plan. Heading out on a 5 mile stretch just outside our neighborhood, I was feeling ok and managing an 8:16 pace. It's pertinent to mention at this point in the story that earlier in the week, Jason and I decided to do an herbal cleanse in an effort to recover from our European vacation. Without getting too graphic, over the last few days, I've been spending an increasing amount of time in the bathroom. I hit the turnaround and was still feeling good. 


Shortly after my RunKeeper App told me I'd completed 7 miles, I felt a sudden movement...NO I did not soil myself, but I came really close. I stopped my watch and searched for a place to take care of business. We live in a relatively rural area, and luckily there was a small stretch of woods I was able to climb into. Unfortunately, we live in Eastern NC (home to many, many pine trees), and the offering of pine needles wasn't providing a Charmin-like alternative. Thinking quickly, I dropped my shorts, and ended up using my underwear instead - the shorts have a lining thank goodness, so running commando was fine by me! While it wasn't a pleasant experience, I was feeling better, so I started running again.


No more than a mile later, disaster struck again. I was still 2 miles out and not about to give up one of my socks, so I changed my route and tried to get into a local volunteer fire station in search of a toilet. I pounded the windows and doors to no avail and once again, found myself among a small strip of trees:

Notice how you can see STRAIGHT THROUGH the "woods!" Lucky me:) I ended up finding a few dry leaves and relieved myself for the second time in an hour and a half. I finally arrived home to be greeted by my FIL. I said, "I had a bit of a situation. Let's just say, I'm no longer in possession of my underwear and I need to take a shower." 

So it's official...I Run, Therefore, I Am is an official running blog, complete with our very own poop story!

Now, what's your story?!

Borrowed Questions

I happened upon this great blog yesterday courtesy of the FitFluential Ambassador Blogger Support Group FB Page. She listed 11 random things about herself and then answered some questions from fellow bloggers. At the end, Rebekah posted this list of questions and asked people to comment back with answers. I'm out of ideas for blog topics at the moment, so I'm posting my answers here:


1. What’s the closest purple thing to you? - The cover of a book entitled Dr. Paula's House Calls to Your Newborn
2. Who inspired you when you were little? - My father. He was an immigrant from Korea and worked harder to make a good life for himself and his family than anyone I've ever met.

3. Who inspires you now? - My fellow Stroller Warriors. They are military moms making fitness a priority in their lives and often serving as single parents while spouses are deployed. 
4. What was the biggest fear you’ve overcome? - I honestly can't answer this one. I don't have a single thing I can think of as a FEAR that I've had to overcome. I suppose that makes me one lucky gal:)
5. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? - When we were about 4 or 5 years old, someone asked us what we would rather have our names be. My sister (Jessica) answered "Jessie." I answered "Martha." This is mainly because we had another set of twins in our pre-school class with those names. Now I would have to say I would change my name to Reagan because I'm secretly in love with Ronald Reagan. Luckily, I just named my daughter that, so I guess I won't have to change it any time soon.
6. Who is your celebrity crush? - Without a doubt, and even with pointy ears in Star Trek, Eric Bana. 

7. Who is your same-sex celebrity crush? - Jennifer Connelly. She's gorgeous, but more important, it's natural.
8. What’s your favorite character trait? - Honesty. I'm physically unable to lie. I start sweating and laughing nervously if I even try. So I value that character trait in others.
9. What’s your favorite body part? - My friends from SW call me "Calves McGee," so I suppose I better say my calves. I got them from my father.  

10. We’re going on vacation to Bali. You can take one thing. What is it? - I'm Asian. It's in my DNA to say I'd take my camera. But because this is a running blog, I'll say my Saucony's.
11. Bikini, tankini, one-piece, or coverup? (extra points if you’ve been to a nude beach!) - Even pre-baby I was never really comfortable in a two piece. I've had a complex about my hips since I hit puberty, so I'm going with tankini...sporty, but also cute.


And just for fun, not because I was tagged in the posts circling the Internet, here are 11 Random Things About Me:


1. I hate even numbers. In March we will turn 32. I'd rather just skip it and go straight to 33.
2. I cut my toenails more than I probably should, and when I do it, I usually clip the calloused skin from the sides of my big toes. Gross, right?!
3. I have a tattoo of a frog on my left foot for absolutely no reason at all.
4. I hate bumpy gourds that they display at Halloween because it makes me think of skin diseases.
5. I love being a twin, but I used to hate it.
6. I talk to my mother-in-law every day.
7. My two best friends are from my high school days. We usually text once a day at least.
8. When my husband is away, I get used to being alone with my daughter. When he returns, it's difficult to fit him back into our lives.
9. I like way too many shows on ABC Family.
10. If I could have excelled at one sport when I was younger, I wish it had been gymnastics. Unfortunately, I'm 5'10".
11. I would love to be a semi-professional photographer one day.


Now if you're willing to share, please comment with one random fact about yourself!

Friendly Competition

As a twin, one might say I have a bit of a competitive streak...ok, I might say that! Well, over the years, my desire to compete has somewhat lessened, but it's not entirely gone. Case in point: I have a good friend from my running club, Stroller Warriors, who I often partner up with. We have a similar pace and similar build. (Oh, and we're both currently training for the Quintiles Half Marathon coming up in March 2012.) Every time we run together, we each think the other one is pushing the pace, so we take turns saying, "Hey, I need to slow down a bit, but feel free to keep going." Naturally, neither of us slows down one bit, and typically, we speed up together. Today the training schedule she's following (courtesy of Runner's World) called for an easy 4. Simple right? Well our SW workout was supposed to be 22 minutes out and back. We rolled in at 42:48 with 5.2 miles done. And with our push at the end, my RunKeeper app said we had a current pace of 6:59. Not exactly an easy 4:) 


But mid-way through the run, she said, "This sucks now, but in a month, we're going to be glad we did this!" And since we've stayed injury free to date and are enjoying the push, it's what I'd call friendly competition. It's a healthy way to test your limits and keep yourself from slacking. And when we need a rest, we run solo, or with other friends. I'm thrilled to be part of this awesome running club where I'm surrounded by people like this girl:

Do you have someone who pushes you to your limits without frustrating you?

Runs With A Camera...

In this earlier post, several of you recommended that we take our sightseeing to the next level by running through the city. We arrived in Newcastle, England early one evening. The following morning, we set out for a nice jog with the camera in tow. Newcastle is famous for its many bridges, but it should also be famous for its huge hills! We took 95% of the pictures in Newcastle on this run and it was a great way to see the city since we only had about 24 hours in total there. And thank goodness for picture breaks, because the hills were brutal! 

Here are two of my favorite pictures from that morning:

Stuck in a Rut

From May to December of last year, I was a running fool. I dropped my 5k PR by minutes, not seconds. I lost a much needed 10 pounds, and an extra 5 just to see if it made me faster (it did not). I ran 6-7 days a week and some nights, I hopped on the treadmill once the Weasel was asleep to log a second workout. I ate relatively healthy meals, rarely snacked, and watched less than 4 hours of TV a week.

Then my wonderful husband came home. While I'm thrilled to have him home, it's definitely taken a toll on my physique and fitness level. First and foremost, we like our beer and cocktails. That affects not only my waistline, but my willingness to hop out of bed and workout in the morning. Secondly, we share popcorn or pretzels, or something sweet nearly every night while we watch TV. I haven't blogged in FOREVER! Writing this blog has helped me hold myself accountable for my running/fitness. And finally, I'd just rather spend time hanging out with him on a Saturday morning than going to meet my Stroller Warriors for a race. I'll have plenty of time for that, so I'm just enjoying the honeymoon phase while it's still in effect:)

But I'm using this platform to get back on track! Last Friday I ran 3.83 with the SWs and then Jason met up with me for an additional 4. The following day, I linked up with a girlfriend and her husband, and we knocked out 11 around base. It's not easy, but it feels good to get back into it. Yesterday, Jason and I got a babysitter to watch the Weasel, and we played racquetball for an hour and then did 20 minutes on the stair climber (the one with the rotating set of stairs). And while we did come home and share some beergaritas (limeade, tequila, and 2 light beers), I didn't feel bad about it because we're making it work...it's a delicate balance. And this is life.